The Mikora Chronicles: Shards of the Past
by AngelAkuma
Summary: The Xmen are called to rescue a new mutant named Mikora, but there's more to her that meets the eye. She was a prisoner at a mutant camp, and a majority of her memories have been erased. She can't even see through the clouds that blanket her past...
1. Author's Notes

FanFiction Xmen  
Label: X-Gene: A Gift or a Curse? (Version 2)  
Title: The Mikora Chronicles: Shards of the Past  
  
~Author's Notes/ Prologue  
~Author: AngelAkuma  
  
Author's Notes--  
Here are some short bio's for the following made-up characters (created by me, of course...): Ashton, Kokori, and Justin  
  
Profiles:   
  
Name: Ashton Magee  
Codename: AniMagi  
Age: 16  
  
Eye Color: slate blue  
Hair color: Black  
Skin/Nationality: Brown tan/Pacific Islander  
  
Powers: Shapshifter/ Can change into any animal at will  
Likes: Surfing   
Dislikes: snakes   
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Name: Kokori LeAnne  
CodeName: Ice Force / Icicle   
Age: 16  
Skin/Nationality: light peach/ ??  
  
Powers: She can create icicles on any part of her body, can create an ice force around herself (it's similar to Majora's Mask's Zora Link's barrier attack/defense). Also, like her cousin Bobby Drake, she can lower her internal and external temperatures without any harm to herself.   
  
Likes: being optimistic  
Dislikes: breaking the rules or doing anything bad.   
  
Other Facts: yes, her name and one of her powers are based on the Kokiri Forest and Zoras from Legend of Zelda...   
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Real name: Justin Kim  
Code Name: --   
Age: 21  
Skin/Nationality: Slightly light brown/ Korean  
  
Likes: nature, peace  
Dislikes: ??  
  
Powers: telekinesis, telepathy  
  
Other facts: he has written in a total of 31 journals and is now writing in his 32nd book.   
  
Prologue--  
  
Mikora Katt was a prisoner at MXF, or Mutant X Factor. It is much like Weapon X, but smaller and for teenagers. Mikora is one of at least 6 experimented upon mutants. Her experiment animal was a small tiger.   
  
Mikora was in this Faction for a good 4 years until she and other mutants planned a breakout, though it caused them tremendous pain -- and sacrifice. There were two attempts to break out. The first one was a failure. It resulted in one of the mutants' death. The next was successful, as two twin mutants had discovered their full potential.   
  
Since this time, Mikora has been on the run from her employers. Her past remains a mystery. She cannot remember what happened before her capture, or much after it. She cannot even see through the clouds that blanket her past, but only shards of her broken memory... 


	2. Chap 1: Rainfall Part 1

Fan Fiction Xmen   
By: AngelAkuma  
  
Author's Notes: This is my first fanfiction for Xmen, and is based on the cartoon, comic, and movie. I would like to say that there is mild cussing and swear words (but nothing TOO bad) in this particular fan fiction. If you do NOT approve of swearing, please do not read this.   
  
Here is a guide to the speech in this story:   
  
"Hi." - normal speech  
'Hi.' - Personal thought  
Hi. - Telepathy  
[Hi.] - Radio speech  
-[Hi.]- - Cerebro  
  
Disclaimer = I do not own Marvel or make any part of it. The only characters that are mine and currently in this story are Mikora, Justin, Ashton, Icicle, and the rest of MXF*. I may introduce more characters as time progresses.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
--{Chapter 1: Rain Fall; Part 1}--  
  
The sky darkened as the stormy night went by. It showered the New York streets with its rain, endlessly pouring down massive pellets of water upon the habitants. Cars beeped and honked noisly as traffic jams continued. Store owners had trouble getting the growing water from their shops. The weather report also showed high, high chances of rain.   
  
"We're havin' a wet weekened folks," a weather reporter said as he moved his hand on the map behind him. "We're raining for about two more days at the least ...."   
  
It was a very wet December night.   
  
At the School for Gifted Children, Henry McCoy, or Beast, was playing chess with Scott Summers, or Cyclops, in the main hallway near the fireplace. Rogue was laying on a couch and reading a thick book. All three were wearing thick sweaters and sweatpants, except Scott whom wore blue jeans. The rest of the students were randomly elsewhere in the Mansion. A few of the newer members were (despite their distaste) inside the Danger Room and practicing their powers. Sometimes the mansion would shake from their powers, but that was as common as the weather. The cold rain splatered relentlessly upon the panes as the night went on.   
  
"Pity that it is raining today," Henry McCoy mentioned as he moved his castle (or rook). He took Scott's bishop and added, "Checkmate."  
  
"Yeah. You said it... We had to cancel our trip to the park." Scott mumbled dreamily as he took McCoy's piece with his knight.   
  
"Do you mean your date with Jean?" Henry inquired. The knight was no more. "Checkmate again."   
  
"Um..." Scott said, blushing slightly. He checked the chess board. "You won again," he said quickly, "I'm going off."   
  
He stood up and Rogue gazed slightly upwards from her book. She watched him walk off into the corridor.   
  
'Hmm... That young man doesn't want to admit his feelings.' he thought to himself.   
~~  
  
Outside and unknown to the Xmen, several vans had blocked off an intersection and cleared a street full of people. Many citizens believed that they were from the police. However, they were far more dangerous than the police.   
  
"I want you to clear these next two streets, YOU HEAR ME??" the leader yelled at his men, "She can't escape, not after nearly two years of trying to track her down!!!"   
  
"YES SIR!" the armored soldiers saluted him before hurrying off to do their duties.   
  
"HEY!" an angry driver shouted, "WHAT'S GOING ON?!"  
  
"There's a dangerous criminal running in this section of the city here!" one of the men cried over the rain and noise, "We have to send everyone home; we don't know what she will do!"   
  
"*Pant*... *Pant*...."   
  
Above them, a lone figure jumped across two buildings in a clean leap. She could see the blurred yellow lights of the skyscrapers around her as she landed onto a rooftop.   
  
"She's gotta be around here somewhere... Where are you?!" the leader growled to himself, checking the equipment. "ugh... We can't spend anymore time dawdling. SEND OUT THE SPECIAL FORCES!!" he yelled.   
~~  
  
The short figure raced across the dark rooftops. She wore not much more than a tattered T-shirt and dirty khaki-colored (although the mud made it seem like dark brown) pants that did not keep her anywhere close to dry. She skidded around one corner, then looked down.   
  
'DAMN! They closed off all the streets! I'm doomed!' she thought tensely. Before she could react, three shots were fired at her from below, and their piercing noises alerted her of their presense. She barely dodged one of them, which shot so close to her face she swore she could see the bullet as it passed by.   
  
'Shit! They spotted me!' The female turned and headed the opposite direction. A flash of lightning scorched the sky, briefly showing her position. Her black hair was tied into a wet ponytail, her thin clothing was drenched, and a visable three-inch scar that stretched across her right eye could be seen.  
  
Sssscccrreeeee!!! Her feet slipped across the wet stone and just before she made another leap. However, more bullets, and this time accompanied by sharp flashes of light.   
  
'They have LASERS?!' she thought frantically. The lasers shot at the wall ahead of her while the bullets tried to injure her limbs. Suddenly, the wall before her split and fell to crumbs; her foothole was gone.   
  
"Aaahhhh!!!" she screamed as a bullet hit her, right through her left leg. Blood flew as she crashed into the now sharp side of the soaked sharp building edge and plummeted headfirst down the side of it in a terrible freefall.   
  
'Must... concentrate....' she groaned through the numbing pain in her arm and side. Blood began to mix with the rain as she headed toward the ground.   
~~  
  
-[WWWWHHIIIRRR! WWHHIIRRR!! Mutant Detected!]-  
  
Professor Charles Xavier accompanied by a suited up Jean Grey quickly entered the Cerebro room. He placed the silver helmet upon his bald head and scanned the immediate area.   
  
-[Mutant Detected: Unknown Name.... Processing... Mutant Identified.]-  
  
'Hmm... Mutant Identification?' he asked Cerebro. The picture before them showed of a short young girl in her teens in a strange uniform. She had a feminine and athletic body, and had chocolate brown eyes and a somewhat fresh and visable scar across her right eye. She had no corrective lenses or any signs of abuse other than her harsh expression on her face. There was also a tattoo in the shape of an "X" on her upper right arm.   
  
-[Mutant name: Mikora Katt. Gender: Female. Age: Approximately 17. Powers: Healing, Superspeed, Agility, Hypersenses. Was last known working for Mutant X Factor*.]-  
  
"Professor?" Jean Grey asked, seeing a concerned look grow over her mentor's face, "What's wrong?"   
  
"This is a special case, Jean," he replied seriously, "I need you to be careful with the next mutant. Her name is Mikora Katt, and is probably on the run from an organization made for mutants, similar to Weapon X. You know how ... stubborn they can be."   
  
"Yes, professor," She said. She knew that he was referring to Wolverine when they had first tried to bring him in. He had put up quite a struggle until he accepted Xavier's pacifist views.   
  
"You may need Logan, Kurt, Kitty, and Ashton on this mission," he continued. "I fear that her powers may have been triggered by her past employers."   
~~  
  
"Oh crud...." Mikora grumbled. She had landed on her feet, but since the ground was so wet, her old sneakers had slipped and she had collided into the watery ground. The rain pelted itself on her head, and the mutant found it quite annoying.   
  
"MIKORA!!" one of the men yelled, "SURRENDER OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENSES!"   
  
MIkora groaned as a piercing light shone in her sensitve eyes from one of the blurred yet blinding lights attached to their guns. These were especially trained men who couldn't come close to taking her down, but in her poor condition there was no way she could fight them all off.   
  
'Just a bit more...' She gritted her teeth, ready to brace the incoming pain.   
  
One of the men cautiously walked over to her, wary of her actions and movement. In the blink of an eye, Mikora got up, kicked the man full in the face, and grabbed his gun. He screamed in pain as she crushed the barrel before tossing the gun aside. She quickly jumped up onto the side of the fire escape of the building she'd fallen from. The pain and wound had healed enough for her to evade her captors once more.   
  
"GET HER!!"   
  
"AARRRGGGGHHH!!!!" she screamed as more blood was spilt.   
  
Something had appeared from the shadows and attacked her! It ripped her front; her chest and waist were torn and bleeding, and she fell backwards toward the pavement once again.   
  
"GOOD JOB WOLFMAN!" one of the soldiers yelled to another figure on the rooftop. He smiled down at them with a malicious grin. He was older than Mikora, and much taller, too. His silver hair was wet as well, but not as wet as Mikora.   
  
~BAMF!~  
  
A strange smell filled the water-filled air as a blue-furred demon appeared. He jumped and grabbed Mikora's body in midair. However, she wasn't unconcious as he had thought.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
* MXF= Short for Mutant X Factor. It's like Weapon X, but smaller and for teens. Yeah, how original of me...   
  
Reviews may encourage or aid in uploading of Chapter 2. 


	3. Chap 2: Rainfall part 2

Title: The Mikora Chronicles: Shards of the Past  
By: AngelAkuma  
  
Disclaimer = I do not own Marvel's X-men or make any part of it. The only characters that are mine and currently in this story are Mikora, Justin, Ashton, Icicle, and the rest of MXF... blah blah blah...   
  
A/N:   
Tash Dragon: Will do. (I think I read too much of Animorphs in the past...)   
Ashley: -_-'   
  
I usually don't go back and edit whatever I wrote in the beginning. I found a major mistake and I fixed it. I hope that this will be the last time I have to do that. *Kicks self*. And NO Ashley, I do NOT need help with self-inflicted wounds. *Glares at Ashley with bat*   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
--{Chapter 2: Rain Fall; Part 2}--  
  
"Get off me!" Mikora screamed as someone teleported from apparently nowhere.   
  
"Vha -- vhait!" he cried in a thick German accent. However, she wasn't listening. Mikora kicked him flat in his stomach and he flew back in midair. The agents were so stunned and surprised at the new mutant that they did not fire their weapons.   
  
"NightCrawler!" Jean cried before using her telekinesis to slow him down.   
  
"Crap! They're mutants too!" One of the soldiers shouted as he turned around. The darkened figures of the Xmen stood near them, blocking their only exit and ready for battle.   
  
"Call the captain! There's too many of them!" another yelled.   
  
"Damn right there are!" Wolverine snarled. He leapt at one of them, unleashing his metal claws and slicing their guns into useless scrap pieces of metal. The men yelled to each other as an orange and black bulk of Wolverine plowed into them.   
  
"Time to play with the cats!" Ashton Magee grinned as her body suddenly shifted and changed from a tall, athletic female surfer from the Bahamas to a large, snarling Bengal tiger from India with slate blue eyes. She lunged at the men, swiping her claws in the fray. The men fired their guns at the two mutants, but Jean had them covered. Kitty phased right through the men and disabled their com-links as one of them reached for his. She then ran after the Kurt and Mikora. The men shot at her but she merely avoided and phased through the shots.   
  
"Whoa!" she cried out as one shot skinned her on the shoulder.   
~~  
  
Meanwhile, Mikora had landed on her feet again, but was bleeding heavily. Her healing powers did seal some of the wounds, but she had lost a lot of blood in a short period of time, and it was wearing her off. Also, she hadn't rested for hours. Without rest or food, her body would over-exhaust itself, even with her powers.   
  
"So... Still trying to escape, eh?" Wolfman said, smiling above her. He was wet and standing on the building's slippery edge. The rain had lessened, and fewer strikes of lightning slashed through the sky. A single bolt flew across the sky, darkening his body and making it silhouetted and nearly impossible to see any identifying features. However, one could still tell that he was probably in his late teens and fairly strong. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt and long pants. His silver hair almost glowed at Mikora, only making her angrier with him as his mere presence reminded her what he had done in the past.  
  
"I knew you were weak," he said, laughing with his mocking tone.   
  
"This doesn't count," she said angrily, getting up and spitting out blood and saliva, "I'm tired. You probably had a bed to sleep in last night."   
  
"What did you do, sleep in a box?" More laughter.   
  
"What did you do, sleep in a crib?" she shot back.   
  
Kurt Wagner a.k.a. NightCrawler had regained himself and listened to their conversation. He frowned. This was going nowhere, and if the rest of the units arrived, they may not make it out.   
  
"Look, Mikova -- " he said gingerly, half-afraid. He didn't want her to attack him again. The kick hurt - a lot. He knew he was definitely going to feel that one tomorrow.   
  
"Who the hell are you? Another experiment gone wrong?" she snarled as she turned to him, "Get the hell outta here; I ain't joining anyone's faction."   
  
With that she took off running again, toward the opposite end of the dark alley. However, she didn't get far.   
  
"Gaaaaaahhhh!!!"   
  
Shadow ropes suddenly bound her feet until she was immobile, and she was lifted upside-down, high above the ground. She cursed and tried to break free, but was unsuccessful.   
  
"Damn you Wolfman!!!" she roared. The shadow ropes had wound around her body, her arms, and her legs so tightly that she couldn't move. A shadow rope wound itself around her neck and began to squeeze the life out of her. She tried to move it away, but with her arms at her sides she could not even protect herself from being strangled. Secondary ropes began to wrap around both Kurt and Kitty, but they merely teleported or phased right through.   
  
"Vhat the..." Kurt cried as he endlessly teleported away from the ropes. However, there was no escape. It was night time, and there were shadows were everywhere. As NightCrawler and ShadowCat tried to escape, Jean, Wolverine, and a humanoid Ashton finally subdued the last of the soldiers and ran toward the captured mutant. Unknown to the Xmen, however, one of the barely conscious men whispered into the only radio that ShadowCat had not disabled. After his action he pleasantly passed out.   
  
"Jean, wait! He can like, totally control shadows!" Kitty yelled in warning. Shadows began had already begun creeping around their legs as the trio had run toward them. Jean took heed of this warning and took herself, Wolverine, and Ashton into the air. She was less worried about Kitty and Kurt; they could get away from the shadow ropes. NightCrawler finally gave up trying to reach Mikora and escaped by teleporting to the opposite building.   
  
"I'm going aerial, Jean!" Ashton said. She focused her thoughts upon the wings of a bird.   
  
'I wish for night wings...' she whispered in her mind.   
  
Instantly, white feathers sprouted from her face, arms, and body as she changed from a human girl to a large snowy white owl with slate eyes. She took flight into the night air, the darkness became day, and she could make out the figure on the rooftops. He apparently had not seen her change and her new form.   
  
I see him! Ashton cried out to Wolverine. He's on the rooftop over there. The very edge.   
  
Jean lifted Wolverine onto the edge of the building with her telekinesis as her concerns for the strangled mutant grew. Mikora didn't look like she could hold on much longer. If they waited any longer, she could be strangled to death.   
  
I'll provide a distraction! Jean said hurriedly yet calmly in their minds, Wolverine, Ashton, attack the shadow controlling mutant!   
  
With that said, Jean flew down and attempted to break Mikora free from the shadow ropes. Her body was dangling in midair and rising to the roof. Jean managed to stop the ropes, but could barely pry the ropes from her body.   
~~  
  
On the roof, Wolverine had caught sight of Wolfman. The boy was rather easy to see; his silver hair guided him like a lighthouse's light against a dark and stormy sky.   
  
"I see him, kiddo." he said gruffly. SNIKT! His claws on both hands were out, and he was ready to do some serious damage. In several bounds, Wolverine leapt at Wolfman, claws outstretched, and sliced him across the boy's left cheek and side. Six bloody lines appeared on the boy's skin as he screamed in pain.   
  
"Aaahhh!!!" he yelped. The shadow lines dropped, and Mikora was released. This time, she was unconscious as she fell toward the ground. Jean easily caught her with her telekinesis.   
  
However, Wolverine wasn't finished. He retracted his right hand's claws and punched the mutant in the same cheek.   
  
I think he deserves it. Ashton said, stifling a giggle despite the seriousness. The sky was still dark, but the rain had reduced from noisy buckets to a light drizzle. Ashton could barely maintain flight in such weather. However, it seemed worth it while Wolverine fought his new opponent.   
  
"Wha -- " Before the boy could even speak, Wolverine had pummeled him like a boxer and his favorite punching bag.   
  
"Aaaaahhhhh!!!" he cried.   
  
"What the hell d'you think yer doing?!" Wolverine spat, lifting the mutant by the scruff of his neck, "What -- "   
  
However, he was cut off as black shadow wolves appeared around him. Their bright red eyes and deep snarling told him who their new target was. A particularly large one leapt up and slammed him back several feet away from its master. The claws in his left hand retracted on impact as it hit the rooftop. The wolf snarled in Logan's face before biting at his throat. Wolverine defended himself and quickly overthrew him.   
  
Wolverine! Ashton cried. She flew downward, toward the shadow-controlling mutant at top speed before racking him with her sharp talons. Once again, blood flowed freely from his face and the shadow wolves retreated.   
  
"Aaaarrrrggghhh!!! Damn you!" he yelled. He backed off, his head bleeding profusely. He had closed his left eye to protect it from the growing blood over it.   
  
"Damn it... I'll be back!" he yelled at them. With that he turned and fled, jumping down the side of the opposite building.   
  
Should I pursue him? Ashton asked. However, she could feel her body weakening. She had been in owl morph too long. However, that wasn't the only problem; her telepathy was limited. In the past, if she tried using telepathy, her body would instantly revert from whatever morph she had back into human form before she passed out completely. After several tries, she was able to use her limited telepathy more efficiently. Nonetheless, it didn't mean that it wouldn't wear her down.   
  
"No... An' morph out of there. Y'look kinda sleepy," Wolverine added to the girl. Ashton flew down near him, but landed improperly and ended up rolling several times before landing on her back. She sighed inwardly. Her talons were in the air, her wings sprawled out, and the rain only made it worse. She also spotted a few feathers several feet away. Nothing else was detached or broken, but it hurt all the same.  
  
'Ow.' she thought grumpily before morphing back to her regular human form.   
~~  
  
Jean caught Mikora and brought her close up for inspection. The girl was unconscious and had no breathing for a moment, but she soon regained it when she had been released. There were visible scratches upon her body, especially on her right arm and side from crashing into the cracked side of the building. There was blood all over her body, and if she didn't receive medical treatment now, she might die of blood loss.   
  
"Oh my..." Jean said softly. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.   
  
"Kurt!" she yelled in urgency as he teleported by her side, "Mikora's healing ability isn't working!"   
  
"What?!" Kurt and Kitty yelled together.   
  
"Not working?! How can it be not working?!" Kitty cried in a panicked tone.   
  
"NightCrawler! I need you to teleport her -- "   
  
Before she could finish her sentence, Jean was cut off at the sound of something being fired at her.   
  
"Jean!!" Kitty and Kurt yelled as a dart appeared in the back of her neck. Jean managed to hold onto Mikora's body as she herself went down. Two more darts came for Kitty and Kurt. Kurt didn't move fast enough and it was soon stuck in his left arm. Kitty's dart stuck out from her right collarbone, near the shoulder.   
  
"Move it, men!"   
  
The rest of the unit from before had arrived. Two men lifted their sniper guns away from their faces as four other men came and went after Jean, Mikora, Kurt, and Kitty.   
  
"Nnuhhh!" Jean grunted, twisting her head and thrusting her hand out to block them. Nothing happened. Her telekinesis wasn't working!   
  
"Try it, mutant scum," the leader snarled. "You won't be able to use your powers for awhile now."   
  
He turned to his men.   
  
"Seize them!"   
  
"Nnoooooo!!!" Ashton yelled from above. She had jumped over the side of the building and was diving straight toward them. Several darts rang out, but none hit her. However, she was growing in size and strength. Fur rippled throughout her body as more power traveled through her arms and legs. Before they knew it, they were facing a large, dominant male panther with enough strength to knock any of them unconscious with one blow of her powerful paws.   
  
"RRROOOOAAAARRRRRRR!!!" Her call made the men's knees tremble as they backed away.   
  
"It's still just a mutant!" the leader yelled, though shakily, "Fire your darts!"   
  
Several darts rang out, but Ashton dodged them the best she could before swiping one of the guns and crushing it under he left forepaw.   
  
Hehehe... she chuckled dangerously in their heads, 'Hope that was expensive.   
  
With her right forepaw she slammed the gun against the man that had been holding it. He fell painfully to the ground. However, the soldiers far out-numbered her and she was overpowered. Another soldier managed to place a dart in her lower hind leg. She howled in pain as she was forced out of her morph before collapsing onto the ground. The armored men surrounded her, and Ashton believed that she was doomed.   
  
"Excuse me, but may I inquire what you are doing?" a voice asked.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A/N: Chapter two has been split into Chapter two and three... I didn't realize that this would be so long! Sorry! I'll hurry up and write chap. 3.  
  
Muahahaha! The perfect cliffhanger! Reviews may help in finding out what may happen next!!! 


	4. Chap 3: Rainfall part 3

Title: The Mikora Chronicles: Shards of the Past  
By: AngelAkuma  
  
A/N: Arrggg this is so frustrating! I have to change the telepathic messages from speech to {speech} because for some reason it just appears as . Sorry if this was causing trouble.   
  
Disclaimer = I think I've come to the point where the disclaimer is pointless and that the fact I don't own or create Marvel or Xmen is a *tad* obvious....   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
--{Chapter 3: Rain Fall; Part 3}--  
  
Two of the men turned toward the newcomer. He was a Korean, about 21 years of age and was wearing a black raincoat, midnight blue pants, a somewhat wet navy backpack over his shoulder, and had a red and blue umbrella over his head. The young man had a weak body and didn't seem much of a fighter. He also had dirty blond hair, light brown eyes, light skin, and a good-natured look about him. He smiled at them with a strange brightness in his cheery eyes.   
  
"May I inquire of your actions?" he repeated good naturally.   
  
"What are you doing here?" one of the men demanded as he walked forward, his gun pointed downward, "This area is strictly -- "   
  
"He's a mutant too!" The leader yelled, interrupting and surprising his colleague. His hand-held mutant detector had begun flashing red. His face glowed with fresh anger toward the newcomer.   
  
"Seize him!"   
  
The young man merely stood there as two men rushed at him. In the blink of an eye, the two men suddenly stopped in mid-air; their bodies had frozen, their arms were at a stand-still, and their feet did not propel them forward toward their target.   
  
"I... can't move!" one of them struggled to say.   
  
"Of course not," he smiled. The other men automatically whipped out their mutant-gene stopping darts, and prepared to fire it at him. However, they were not given a chance when Wolverine came from apparently no where. The guns were shattered and torn onto the pavement. Within a matter of seconds, the stranger and Wolverine had subdued the last of the soldiers. Ashton was released and she groaned at her injuries. She screwed one eye shut and the Korean helped supported her as the trio walked calmly away from the cowering soldiers.   
  
"Please do not interfere or struggle," the Korean said as he looked back, "It would be harder for both of us."   
  
With that he turned back and walked toward the Xmen. Mikora's body was lying on the ground, her face still tense from battle. She was still bleeding heavily. Wolverine had already gone ahead and was calling to Jean.   
  
"Jean!" Wolverine shouted. He bent down and lifted Mikora up and looked her over, examining her wounds.   
  
"We have to go back!" he said tensely. The girl wasn't in a good condition and she already had lost a lot of blood. Justin calmly walked nearer to the others with a bleeding Ashton on his shoulder. He could easily support her with his telekinesis, though his weak body didn't seem to agree to her additional weight.   
  
"Who are you?" Ashton asked feebly. She was struggling to keep awake; the soldiers had earlier injected something into her, which made her feel sleepy. She coughed up blood and instantly moved away from Justin as to not get it on him. She'd bitten her own tongue just to stay awake.   
  
"Take it easy. My name is Justin Kim. I was looking for the Xavier Institute and I became lost. I remembered being invited by your professor and tried to trace him by scanning the area of telepaths." he explained quickly, "The only telepath, however, I found was you." he added, turning to Jean.   
  
"I see," Jean said, standing up. "However we must skip the introductions, for now we must get this mutant safe."   
  
Justin nodded and soon Wolverine, Jean, Kitty, Kurt, and Ashton, and himself were climbing into the X-Van. They placed Mikora's body on the back seat and were soon driving toward home.   
  
'Hang in there, kiddo,' Wolverine thought, 'Yer gonna be okay.'  
~~  
  
The soldiers groaned as they watched their target get away. The leader couldn't believe this. He and his best men were defeated... by Mikora and the X-men! He did not know that they would be in this area, and paid highly for this.   
  
"Damn it!" he cursed to himself, "The Mutant X Factor cannot afford this kind of damage! We need her BACK."  
  
Another unit had been dispatched, but they were far too late; Mikora was gone, and she was in safe hands. Also, Wolfman had failed with the new enhancements. They might have to punish him. Maybe. This was the first time he'd messed up in a long time.   
  
"Steve Drago*!" He yelled. The boy appeared before him.   
  
"Yes?" he asked, blood still spewing from his pale face. It now almost completely covered his left eye, which he had kept closed. He could feel a slight tinge of red grow on his face.   
  
"You... You....." The leader's rage was apparent, and the wolfish mutant knew he messed up -- badly.   
  
"I didn't say it would be easy!" he yelled back before the man could say anything. His pride hurt more than his bleeding head. He felt embarrassment burn through his pale face. How dare she! Mikora would not escape him a second time, and the Xmen would not interfere again....   
~~  
  
Mikora was quickly placed in the medical infirmity. She was hooked into monitors of all sorts, had a needle in her left hand, and was heavily bandaged, mainly on her waist, right side, right arm in three separate places (hand, elbow, and shoulder), and lower legs. A majority of her muscles had been torn especially the ones in her legs from running too much. Her health signs were normal, but she was in terrible condition. She had lost a lot of blood, was extremely tired and lacked nutrition. If the X-men took more time than they did, she might have died.   
  
While Mikora lay unconscious and unmoving in her medical bed, the older Xmen as well as the elder ones that had rescued her - meaning Jean, Justin, Summers, McCoy, Ororo Munroe a.k.a. Storm, and Logan - were in the Professor's office several hours later discussing the situation. Kitty and Kurt were absent in the meeting. Ashton had been checked by McCoy and was in fact fine -- just a bit tired from morphing so many times, especially the new morph -- an owl. She wished to be in the meeting even though she should have been sleeping. The shapeshifter was new here, and a few serious doses of life in New York would be good for her.   
  
"I did not realize that the situation would be so grave," Professor Xavier said seriously, putting his fingers together in symbolism of deep thought, "I regret not sending the other mutants to help you, Jean. You could have all perished -- "  
  
"Professor, it is alright," Ashton cried, "We made it back in one piece, right?"   
  
The professor sighed again. Ashton was less mentally developed than a majority of the students and failed to take some situations solemnity. She still had a childish mind, but was over all a good person. He only wished that she could understand the seriousness and the danger he could have put them all through.   
  
"Ashton, that is not the case. Had I sent Scott, Hank, and Iceman out, you all might have been in less trouble."   
  
Ashton was about to protest again, but was silenced by a severe look from Logan. She made a small squeak and did not say another word.   
  
"Well, it is good to know that you are truly concerned for your students, Mr. Xavier -- " Justin began.   
  
"Please, call me Charles. No need to be formal."  
  
"Alright, if you insist, Charles. However, we have several problems on hand, and we cannot linger too long upon any of them. One of these is the mutant-gene stopping liquid inside the darts that were shot at your people."   
  
"I agree," Jean responded, "We need to do some research. I believe Hank has already done so."   
  
Beast nodded toward Jean before speaking.   
  
"I believe that there was some sort of chemical inside the fluid that makes the mutant gene to stop working for only an hour or so," he began, "However, this puzzles me... If the faction that Mikora was from has these kinds of darts, and could have captured her and other mutants with this kind of weapon ... How many did they capture? Did they use this liquid? And also.... If they were able to do this, could they also lengthen that hour to the rest of the mutant's lives?"   
  
His questionis shocked the room to silence. Justin was the only one who was unusually calm. However, one could tell through his eyes that he was extremley troubled. What could this mean?   
  
"Then that could mean...." Logan muttered.   
  
"No mutant powers..." Scott said softly.   
  
"A remedy...? A cure...?" Ororo Munroe asked.   
  
"Yes and no," McCoy replied solemnly, "I do not believe that this could actually stop the mutant gene, but only repress it further. In the end, if the liquid wears off, or if the gene cannot be repressed any longer, the repressed powers may erupt ..."  
  
He trailed off and let it hang in the air. The room stood silent. No powers... but at a terrible price. Was this what they had bribed Mikora with?   
~~  
  
Meanwhile, Mikora was stirring in the medical room. In her mind she was experiencing some of her most terrible memories.  
  
"No... not again..." she whispered, twitching slightly. The nightmares had begun.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
*A/N: NO I did NOT base Steve Drago aka Wolfman upon Draco Malfoy of Harry Potter. (What were you thinking?!) In fact I created him BEFORE I read ANY of the Harry Potter books (which was around the same time I created Mikora). Drago is short for Dragon. Yes I am obsessed with dragons! But not Wolfman. Wolfman is a bastard that deserves to be shot. ^_^ (and as I think about it... so does Malfoy. -_-')  
  
Finally! RainFall parts are DONE! *praises the sun* :) Next chapter will reveal some of Mikora's past.... *3v4il 5mil3* (evail smile)  
  
Review? Please?   
  
Go read Ashley's stories!   



	5. Chap 4: Falling Memories Burn Most

Title: The Mikora Chronicles: Shards of the Past  
By: AngelAkuma  
  
A/N: Sorry to keep you waiting; I was on a 3-day trip to Santa Cruz, but now I'm back!   
Anyway, this chapter was named after a post I once made in the Yahoo! Club "Mutant Revolution." It was one of my favorite clubs and in fact I am still role-playing there today!   
  
BTW- if you really don't like experimentation on mutants, don't read the last flashback Mikora has in her dreams.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
--{Chapter 4: Falling Memories Burn Most}--  
  
Mikora lay unconscious and unmoving in the sheets. Her body was hurt, but her mind did not register the pain, as it was reeling and full of burning memories.   
  
--~~::FLASH!::~~--  
  
It was dark. It was raining. The memory was blurry and Mikora was moving up and down. The scene was set on a hill, away from civilization. Mikora turned and looked over a woman's shoulder. She was carrying her away from a great fire. The fire was engulfing their house. A man lay face down in the dirt, with MXF officials standing about him, laughing and kicking at his apparently dead body.   
  
She looked up, and could see the concerned tears flying through the air.   
  
Then... lights! Gunfire rang around them and sliced through the air near them.   
  
[Wha... MOM LOOK OUT!!!] She called in her mind. [Wait... MOM?! Where are we? Who's firing at us....?!]  
  
Mikora looked over her mother's shoulder and saw the bullets coming toward them. They were like mini missiles, only aimed to kill her mother. Only... they were not metal darts anymore - they were... falling blossoms....  
  
[You... you were like me... ]  
  
A scream emitted from overhead. Suddenly, Mikora's mother went down, slumped on the wet ground. She couldn't hear her mother's words; Mikora felt shell-shocked and dunked in a bucket of fear. The red blood poured from her mother's wound and soaked the ground. The next thing she knew, she was running. Running away from these bad men whom seemed to wish to end her family's lives.   
  
"Over my dead body will you get my daughter!!" a yell behind her roared.   
  
Mikora turned. A large, vine wall had erupted from behind of her!   
  
"Moooommmm!!!" she yelled, turning and pounding the thick wall.   
  
"Mom...." She cried for a short while, then turned and looked upward. A helicopter was flying overhead. After a moment's pause, she then realized... this metal bird would catch her. She quickly ran away. Then... more gunshots!   
  
"Aaahhh!!!" A bullet went straight through her lower right leg! Blood shot through it and showered the already wet ground. She tripped and landed into the mud again. She turned, fear in her eyes. She tried to get up, get away, but her leg had immense, agonizing pain.   
  
"Ahhh...." she groaned. She then realized... the pain was diminishing.... The would was healing... ?   
  
A sound behind her made her turn around. Two men had landed on the mud.   
  
"Give up, girl! You know you can't out run us!!"   
  
Mikora got up. And ran, as fast as her legs could carry her... Until a single shot rang out. She fell, and before she hit the ground, all went black.   
  
--~~::FLASH!::~~--  
  
Mikora woke up. Strange... her eyes felt as if they were already open. It was still dark out, but she could see through the small window through the back of a truck. She remembered it being extremely cold and being surrounded by strange men. The girl also remembered being extremely fearful of what would happen to her.   
  
[I... I don't... remember this...] she thought quietly to herself. Why this forgotten memory...?   
  
"She's awake," someone said gruffly.   
  
She looked up to the feet of a very tall man in black boots. He looked down at her.   
  
"Soon," he snarled, "Soon..."   
  
He moved aside.   
  
--~~::FLASH!::~~--  
  
She wasn't in the truck anymore, and in fact she didn't know WHERE she was. All she could think of was the doors ahead of her, the many men in white coats with stiff boards in hands inside of the large room, their papers being written on as they watched her. Then... The orange-tainted tank... they were going to do it... it didn't matter her age, if she was a girl or not... They were going to torture her... because she was a mutant. Because she was different... simply because... she wasn't like them.   
  
They attached strange needles and a mask to her before trying to place her inside. However, despite her young age, she was putting up quite a fight. She darted away from the others, but was eventually caught by the ankle as she tried to escape. They picked her up, screaming and all, before dumping her in the large, circular tank, and the shearing pain was all she could think about. The painful memory! The memory that she hated most!  
  
[Suppress it!] The mutant screamed at herself. Her heart raced. Not like this... She wasn't going to suppress it in time.   
  
[No... No...Nnnnnnnooooooooo!!!!!!]   
  
The acid-like substance burned through her skin, creating what felt like a thousand hot knives pressing against her vulnerable skin. The girl could even remember the painful tears she shed from her closed eyes as she screamed for mercy.   
  
[Please... just let it end... just let it end...] she cried silently in her own mind.   
  
The hot, burning feeling rippled throughout her body. The trapped child screamed in agony and pressure as the tears flowed into the experimentation tank. She could vaguely hear the doctors talking amongst themselves. Only one of them pleaded to stop hurting her, but no one listened.   
  
[Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!] she cried. Memory, dream, nightmare... WHY WOULDN'T IT END?! The pressure was too much; she wanted out! But it wasn't ending! Her mind screamed for some compassion or sympathy in the cold faces before her. The pain! The shearing memory! The pressure... !!   
  
--~~::FLASH!::~~--  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Her frightened eyes snapped open as her piercing scream echoed throughout the mansion.   
  
"What was -- Oh, no! MIKORA!" Jean cried, surprised. She and the others hurriedly darted from the professor's room toward the infirmity.  
  
Mikora had awakened in cold sweat. Her tense face was dripping in heavy perspiration as she panted heavily. Her frightened chocolate brown eyes scanned the medical room. However, as she looked about her, her shattered mind took what was real into what she believed she saw. The tools used for cutting and mending turned into huge scalpels, the beds turned into torture chambers with metal straps. Her distorted reality had become her worst nightmare.   
  
"No... no... not again...." Mikora muttered to herself, "No! Not again! NEVER AGAIN!!" she screamed, her enraged eyes suddenly sparked with a new flame for revenge.   
  
With that said, she quickly took in where she was and what was connected to her. Mikora noted that she was in what appeared to be a medical room. She realized that she had been resting upon one of the medical beds here. There was no one else, however. She was hooked up to many pieces of equipment, and her mind, she was back at the MXF. They would not take her like this. She would resist them... even if it cost her the very life they wanted to take -- her life.   
  
She gazed down at the needle in her left hand. She couldn't move her right hand, as it was covered in thick castings. As she made moves toward the needle, Hank came in and saw that she was awake.   
  
"Mikora?! Are you alright?!" he asked, hurrying over to her.   
  
"Don't move," she said in a dark tone. She brought her left hand toward her face, then bit onto the needle, just above where it pierced her skin.   
  
"Mikora?! What are you doing?! STOP! You will hurt yourself -- "   
  
With a clean move, Mikora had pulled the entire needle from her hand with only her teeth. Fresh blood spewed from her hand and onto the ground. She didn't mind the fresh stabs of pain in her hand. Pain wasn't new to her.   
  
"Mikora!!" Hank yelled, desperate now. But Mikora wasn't listening to the blue-furred man. She either tore off or sliced through the needles, wires, and other attachments to her body before jumping up from the medical bed. The sheets flew to the floor as she faced the blue-furred doctor. She growled and hissed at him, narrowing her eyes and assuming a battle stance. Hank reluctantly prepared himself to defend, and if necessary, to attack.   
  
"MIKORA! Snap out of it!" he yelled. However, as he watched her, he could tell that her eyes were somewhat glazed, as if in a trance. He knew that the now deranged mutant wasn't listening, and was probably scared out of her mind. However, as he watched her, black stripes rapidly grew from her checks, two pairs on either side of her face. But they didn't stop there. They continued appearing around her arms, ankles, and, although it was not seen, all over her back and body. Before Hank's eyes, a cat-like tail appeared with similar black stripes upon it. He also noticed more changes as small yet sharp claws that were once fingers appear upon her small hands, and her eyes also turned from normal, round human eye to mere cat-eye slits. Her eye color changed from that of a dark yet interesting chocolate brown to a fiery mix of hazel and orange.   
  
"My ... Mikora... what happened to you?!" Hank exclaimed, surprised at the sudden change. She seemed ten times more fiercer this way, and inside, it scared him. It scared him deeply. He was afraid that she might kill him in this form, in this mode. He was afraid what she might do if she got into the rest of the mansion. Hank did not know of the damage this girl could do.   
  
"I was experimented on once, it's not going to happen again!" she screamed. She attacked him, but as she did so, he attempted to dodge her attacks. Four faint but bloody lines appeared on the professor's coat as the two began battling.   
  
Had he not moved, she might have sliced through his skin and into his organs.   
  
Her powers had recovered and were acting again, he began to grasp onto the idea that she might have obtained a form of shape-shifting that he may not have knew existed. Or... Was this her experimentation?   
  
"You doctors have no respect for my kind, do you?!" she yelled, managing to kick him in the chest. He was sent flying backwards and crashed into a tray of bandages and empty bottles. They shattered on the floor as his furry back collided into almost all of them, scattering upon the hard floor. Hank landed quite a few feet away. The force from being pushed back so far, so fast caused him fade in and out of consciousness. Two figures then appeared at the doorway. A bald man in a wheel chair widened his eyes at the horrible scene before him. Two types of blood were on the floor, and a new shape of Mikora Katt was displayed before them.   
  
"H-Hank!" Jean Grey cried, seeing her colleague hurt. She rushed over to aid Beast, who then passed as she tried to check him. The redhead then turned and noticed Mikora... and her change.   
  
'My god... What happened to her ...?!' she thought to herself.   
  
The psychic female then stepped forward, but Xavier glanced at her to not interfere. Mikora was part feral, he realized, and would probably be as dangerous and as unpredictable as Logan, probably even more so.   
  
"Mikora, listen to me," he called out in a clear and calm voice, "You are with the X-men. I am Professor Charles Xavier -- "   
  
"It could be Chucky the Zebra for all it's worth!!" she yelled, turning her head to his direction. Her slitted eyes pierced the air, causing the two telepaths to freeze in surprise. In a split second, she went from 30 feet away to 30 inches away as she used her super-speed.   
  
"So jus' can it!" she yelled angrily, thrusting a clenched left fist forward toward Xavier's calm face. However, before she could even get any closer to him, a large, bulky figure crashed into her, shoving her into the ground. The mutant landed hard on her left side, which nearly cracked at the impact.   
  
Mikora could barely hear around her; the images were getting dizzier and dizzier, her vision blurred more than normal, and she could barely registered the red-haired female asking the bald man if he was alright. She shook her head of these visions and images and recomposed herself.   
  
'What the... no one's ever hit me THAT hard...' she thought in her dim mind. She got up, but her left arm was slightly sagging. It wasn't broken, just a bit more than bruised. Her head cleared enough to grab a hold of the new person standing before her.   
  
"What the hell d'you think yer doing, attackin' Chuck like that?!" Wolverine exclaimed, stepping closer. He now wore his usual white shirt and jeans, and in fact would have had a quite casual look about him, if it weren't for the stern and angry expression on his face.   
  
"So what if I was?!" she shouted back. He suddenly grabbed her by the collar and pulled her closer.   
  
"It matters 'cause-- " he started to say.   
  
A sudden scream of pain suddenly filled the room. Xavier and Jean both jerked slightly at the closeness of it. The scream had come from only the hall that led to the room that the X-men were all standing in. Everyone had stopped in surprise, even Mikora.   
"Jean," Xavier said quickly, "Justin seems to be having problems with his telepathy. Please help him."   
  
"Already on it, Professor!" Jean called. She had dashed toward the door, but had no need to go far. Justin was on his knees, panting and holding his head. It was odd to her to see such a calm young man like him in this position.   
  
"Justin... I'm here," she said softly. She placed her hands on his head, trying to help relieve him of his mental pain by using her own telepathy powers.   
  
"I... I...." he mouthed, unable to make sound. His body was shaking, his skin sweating, and his eyes were uncertain in direction. They traveled from the floor, to Jean, to the professor, then the ceiling, the medical table, to Hank, and they finally landed on Wolverine and Mikora.   
  
"Gaahhh!" he gasped, accidentally releasing some of his trapped mental energy. It came as a wave, hitting both Logan and Mikora, triggered something in both mutants.   
  
Wolverine blinked as the mental wave hit him. There was something about this girl... something about her... was so ... familiar...   
  
--~~::FLASH!::~~--  
{Logan's Flashback}   
  
Logan was standing beside a man, who was staring down below them. They were in a small and plain room, but he could tell it was the "nursery" of the house. There was a crib in front of them with a single occupant, a rather lively child.   
  
The man said something, but Logan couldn't remember what he said. He looked familiar as well. The man had dark hair and dark eyes, but that was all he could tell.   
  
--~~::FLASH!::~~--  
{Mikora's Flashback}  
  
Mikora looked up. She could see two figures above her. She was in her sleeping place, and these two men had come to visit her. They both had dark hair and eyes, though one of them was slightly shorter than the other, and seemed much more stronger as well. They were speaking, speaking about something. Her mind was still childish, but she could somehow make work of what they were saying.   
  
"I want you to remember .... " one of them said faintly. It was like a badly tuned radio - She could hear the person speaking, but white noise kept covering up the most important parts.   
  
"She ... different ... "  
  
"Remember... our smells ... forever ... little one ... "   
  
--~~::FLASH!::~~--  
  
Mikora suddenly stopped struggling against the large, heavy man. The memory had triggered something... something.   
  
"You ... You smell familiar..." she whispered.   
  
"What... What did you say?" Wolverine asked, surprised. What ... was that ... His grip loosened, and so did his muscles; his urge to fight and defend was completely gone.   
  
The young mutant was dropped to the ground. For a moment, Mikora's mind swirled and ached. She couldn't see. Exhaustion hit like waves over her, and she felt tired... So tired... The last thing she could hear was her name... someone was calling her name... she couldn't see ... Overcome with exhaustion and the over-use of her muscles and powers, she quietly passed out onto the hard floor.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
*A/N: Ooohhh... How can this be?! How could Wolverine and Mikora share the same memory? Was it Justin, who apparently has mental unstability? Or is it... something else?   
  
Keep reading the story to find out more, and keep a lookout for the next chapter!   
  
This is your anger  
This is your fury  
Just make her   
Feelings bury 


	6. Chap 5: When Darkness Becomes Light

Title: The Mikora Chronicles: Shards of the Past  
By: AngelAkuma  
  
To all reviewers: Thank you for all of your comments and support; I truly appreciate it. I'm sorry that these chapters were delayed. School has been quite demanding this month and I've recently had alot of mental usability. We can't have an insane person writing this story, now can we?   
  
Anyway, Mikora is sane this time when she wakes up AGAIN in this chapter. ^_^; This chap. is more or less lots of conversation, probably the most for a one-on-one session. Next chapter probably won't be so wordy.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
--{Chapter 5: When Dark Becomes Light}--  
  
Mikora Katt slowly opened her eyes. She stared at the dark ceiling for a moment, assuring herself that she wasn't having a crazy dream. The girl then recalled her memories of the past few hours and winced as she remembered the bullets being fired at her. Mikora was somewhat grateful for her rescuer's help; she was in bad shape, and supposed she should not have attacked her rescuers in such ferocity.   
  
The young teenager began to sit up, but as soon as she did, a throbbing pounding with the force of a sledgehammer pummeled into her mind. On reflex, her eyes tightened and closed, and for a moment she could only feel the pain of the headache.   
  
"Aarrrggghhh..." she moaned quietly to herself, clutching her head with her hands, "My head hurts..."   
  
She shifted herself slightly in the sheets. ... Sheets? She looked down, and realizing for the first time that she was lying in the same bed she had been in before. Mikora suddenly paused for a moment and thought why there would be sheets.   
  
'MXF never bothered with sheets when dealing with me... This can't be the MXF...'  
  
The female mutant blinked, let go of her head as she lifted it, and finally viewed the room she occupied as it was, rather than her own demented reality. Her sharp eyes noted the new needle in her hand, still pumping in more needed nutrients and IV. The mutant lifted her head and scanned the room again, her cat-like eyes glowing slightly in the dim light. She could see perfectly; the shapes were almost as clear to her as if someone had flipped the light switch on. There were other medical beds, but she was the only one in the room... or so it appeared.   
  
"Eh...." she mumbled. There was a strange, foreign, yet familiar smell in the air. She looked down upon the floor and noticed a large, black, shaggy dog lying near her bed, fast asleep.   
  
"Um...." she said with uncertainty. The dog's ears flickered to and fro suddenly, but it didn't wake.   
  
"Excuse me," Mikora said, loudly and clearly. The black lab then yawned slightly, getting up. It looked around before scratching its floppy ear with its left hind leg. The animal then turned around and yawned again, this time looking at her as if to say, "Yes?"   
  
"You can come out of that form, you know..." the cat-like mutant said, somewhat amused, "I don't know what the hell you're doing..."   
  
At first, the dog blinked at her, uncertain of what she was saying. Then, its familiar slate blue eyes brightened and almost immediately, its shape and form began changing. The black fur sucked into a dark tan skin, and its body grew taller and stood erect on its hind legs while its fore legs lengthened to arms. The tail disappeared entirely and the ears shortened and traveled backwards. Very soon, a humanoid girl with a tough build stood before the new mutant. She had black hair and dark tan skin and seemed to enjoy spending a lot of time in the sun. The shape-shifter seemed rather tall for her young age of 16. She wore a simple black T-shirt with a strange white "X" symbol in the upper left hand corner with the writing "Xavier's Institute for Gifted Children" across it. The girl also had on midnight blue shorts (with the same "X" on the shirt) that ended to just about her knees, revealing strong legs and feet, which were clothed with soft white socks. She wore no shoes and seemed to enjoy it that way.   
  
"Sorry!" the girl exclaimed in a very doggish way, "I 'ought I'd 'ave more 'nergy if I'd morph into a dawg! So I did! But I just fell asleep!"   
  
"Um... it's okay..." Mikora said, uncertain of what else to say. Exhaustion was still present, so she decided not to try to pick a fight this time. This girl also felt too... hyper to do anything to her.   
  
"My name's Ashton Magee! I'm a thapethifter!" she said proudly with a thick, dog-like accent, "I helpted rethcue youh!"   
  
"Uh... thanks..." Mikora said to Ashton. The girl's energy certainly was plentiful.   
  
"Hmm..." she said suddenly, "How old are you? You look... I dunno... 14... or thow..."   
  
"17."   
  
"Reawy? Wow... Well, anyway... The prowethor said thaw he wanted t' see you as soon as you wohke ... ack, sorry," Ashton said before clearing her throat. "Dog got my tongue. Anyway, I'm going to get the Prof., so you better sit here."  
  
With that, she left by exiting through the door. Mikora sat quietly upon her bed and looked around a bit more. There were new bandages on her, but fewer, as some of the wounds had already healed. She lifted the cover with her left and checked her feet, and found that only her lower legs were wrapped. They were a bit sore, but she'd felt worse. There was also a small cast on her right arm and in the places where her bones had nearly been broken. However, she felt fine now, and was certain that she'd healed already.   
  
Mikora continued examining the room until a soft knocking was heard on the door. The girl jerked in surprise but restrained herself as someone opened the door. It was the man she'd fought with earlier. He was still dressed in the white shirt and jeans that he wore earlier, and was pushing the bald man in his wheelchair. The buff man pushed the calm one toward her and right next to her bed. He then stood off uncomfortably to the side.   
  
"Hello, Mikora Katt," the bald man said pleasantly, smiling as he did so, "My name is Professor Charles Xavier. Welcome to my school for gifted children, or more commonly known as mutants. We are located in New York, and right now, you are in the infirmity, in the sub-levels of the school. The people who rescued you that night are called the X-men. One of them was Ashton, and I believe you have met with her already. Another that had rescued you is this man standing next to me. He is called Logan, or Wolverine. He helped save your life."   
  
"Sorry for treating you like that, from before," he said gruffly and uneasily as he avoided eye contact, "I felt it was necessary."  
  
Mikora honestly didn't know what to say, so she did not say anything.   
  
"Logan, may I have a word with her privately?" Xavier asked politely.   
  
"Okay, Chuck, but if anything happens... " He trailed off before walking out the open door and closing it behind him. Xavier watched him walk out before turning back to Mikora.   
  
"Mikora, I would like to talk about what happened before, but I am quite sure you have many questions. I will be glad to answer as many as I can. Do you have any at this moment?"   
  
"Yeah," she said bluntly, "Why are ya in a wheelchair?"   
  
Xavier smiled and replied, "Ah, of course. I was paralyzed from the waist down. You see, I am not the only mutant with the idea of creating a place where mutants could find sanctuary from the human world. The man who helped make this place... his name is Magnus Lengsherr, or Magneto. He has become powerful, but believes that humans and mutants cannot live together in peace, and mutants can only find peace when taking serious action toward humans."  
  
"Sounds like a happy guy," she said sarcastically.  
  
"Any other questions?"   
  
"Yeah... How long am I going to be here for?" she asked.   
  
"Ah... that is entirely up to you."   
  
"So I can leave now?" she asked, semi-hopeful. The girl did not want to be here in this foreign place. She had somewhere to be, and it definitely was not here.   
  
"Not quite, Mikora. Those agents are still after you. I wish for you to stay here, where you will be safe."   
  
"I am NOT staying here!" Mikora snapped, slightly enraged, "I can't! I have places to be! I have to people to meet! I cannot be here!"   
  
"Mikora! Please! Calm down! I will not force you to do something that you do not wish to do. If you do not wish to stay, then you don't have to." Xavier said, hoping she wouldn't go onto another rage and try to kill him. He didn't want to use his powers against her, and then again he knew that Wolverine was standing right outside the door, probably listening in on their conversation to make sure that there were no fighting.   
  
"But stay here for at least one week," the professor continued, "I would like you to see how the school is. Also, your wounds have not completely healed yet. If you go out in this condition, you will be caught for sure! Please, consider my offer."   
  
The mutant quieted down and pondered about his offer. If she ran now, they may or may not catch up to her again... but if she stayed now, they might receive a greater chance at getting her back. Back... She frowned in her mind. To that place?! She would rather die than go back. It was a horrible place, and Mikora felt that she would rather stay here than there.   
  
"I do not require an immediate answer, so take as much time as you like. If you do not wish the one-week tryout, you are free to go."   
  
"Fine." she said sternly to Xavier, eyes downward, "I'll stay... but only for a week, okay?"   
  
Xavier was relieved that she had decided to stay, but he had become even more worried. People to meet? What kind of people? Were they the people who had helped her escape? More questions flooded into his mind.   
  
"Before I leave you, I have a few questions," Xavier said calmly, "Who were those people who came after you? Hank, the doctor who was trying to tend to you, told me that you were experimented upon."   
  
Mikora sighed and lifted her head to the ceiling.   
  
"I guess you have a right to know... I suppose it's fair trade," she remarked before looking at him. Xavier saw an intense seriousness in her young eyes that he'd never seen before.   
  
"As y'know, I am an experimented upon mutant," she said. Before Xavier's eyes, Mikora changed from her human form into the cat-like figure he'd seen earlier. Stripes appeared, her pupils became slits, and although it was not seen, so did a cat-like tail. However, something was strange... Her eyes remained chocolate brown rather than the fired-up hazel/tan eyes he'd seen earlier.   
  
"I ... forgot what really happened when I was at MXF, or Mutant X Factor." she said, lifting her left hand to her face. Her fingers had become claws again, and there were a few visible stripes on her left arm and wrist.   
  
"But I do know is this: During my first of four years there, my skin was fused with a special liquid metal called tyrite. The liquid metal can change from a liquid state to a solid formation, as you can see here," she brought her left hand closer to Xavier for his own inspection. The claws were sharp and could easily draw blood, he realized.   
  
"I was also spliced with the DNA of a type of cat... I can't remember if it was a tiger or cheetah, though..." Mikora said, "But ever since that day, I was referred to as 'Cheetah.' Sometimes I was called by my name... But I can't remember much from that."   
  
Xavier listened silently to her, not expecting such detailed description of her experimentations. Somewhere within his mind, he wondered why she was so open now compared to before.   
  
"I... I see..." he said quietly, slightly stunned. 'She is very much like Logan... I wonder if they went to the same place? Or if this MXF a branch of Weapon X... ?'  
  
"That's were I got THIS from," she said with disgust, showing him her large X-tattoo, "I tried everything I could trying to get it off without ripping my arm off or tearing it into pieces. Nothing works."   
  
Xavier leaned closer and saw upon the "X" tattoo her name and a four numbers and letters on the bottom. They were semi-blurry, but he could make out the letter "A" in one of them.   
  
"Anything else?" she asked, somewhat more harshly than intended.  
  
"Yes.... just one more," Xavier said, "Do you have any family that we may be able to return you to?"   
  
Mikora's face froze, then frowned at the thought.   
  
"I have none," she growled bitterly and with great distaste, "MXF did a pretty good job killing my parents."   
  
The telepath said nothing and did not ask any further questions. Her parents gone, she was now an orphan. Or perhaps not... He could 'adopt' Mikora for now, Xavier realized. At least try to keep the mutant safe from the harm he knew would deeply affect her, as it already had done to her earlier in her life.   
  
"Mikora, please rest for tonight," Xavier said pleasantly, "You will be moved to your own room later today. Would you like to share a room with anyone? Ashton? Jean, the red-haired girl you had seen earlier?"   
  
"Um, no that's okay... I prefer a room by myself..." the girl said. A room? Should be quite unlike the cell she'd used for 4 years...   
  
"Alright. And don't worry about any more nightmares. I blocked your past memories with my telepathy."   
  
Mikora's eyes widened somewhat.   
  
"You... Went into my mind...?" her surprised and stunned voice asked.   
  
"I am sorry... I know I invaded your privacy inside your head, but it was necessary," he said, slightly quicker than normal, "I did not protrude into any of your deeper memories."   
  
"Please... just stay out of me!" Mikora nearly yelled in a serious tone. A telepath went into her mind! Internally, she felt scared, not for what he might have placed in there, but rather what he might have seen. No one was allowed to view the dark recess of her mind! Why him?!  
  
"I am sorry," Xavier repeated with such remorse that Mikora began to feel slightly sorry for being rude, "I care much for my fellow students as well as any mutant who is in trouble and in need of aid."  
  
"Didn't mean to yell..." she said, closing her eyes and lying back down, "I'm tired. Just... leave me alone."   
  
The door suddenly opened, and a fierce looking Wolverine appeared through the door.   
  
"You alright, Chuck?" he asked seriously, glancing at Mikora to make sure she didn't pull any fast ones.   
  
"I am alright, Logan," Xavier turned to Wolverine as he spoke, giving him a "Please-do-not-interrupt" look before looking back to Mikora.   
  
"Please, Mikora.... Rest well. I cannot have any of my students walking around unwell when they should be resting."   
  
"I'm not your student," she said harshly before turning her head away from him. Xavier sighed before turning back to Logan. The short yet strong man then pushed his mentor out of the room, closing the door behind him as he did so.   
~~  
  
"How was she?" Hank asked as soon as Xavier returned to his office. Logan stayed with McCoy and Xavier, listening rather than speaking.   
  
"She is fine, and is recovering quickly," Xavier replied humbly, "But I am afraid that the organization called 'Mutant X Factor' that had captured her did more damage than we may ever know. It seems she has blocked out a majority of her memories there. I did not have to do much in suppressing the more, terrible and recent ones as of late."   
  
"I know I should not be asking, professor... But, what did this girl experience in the past?" Hank asked delicately.   
  
Xavier sighed, then closed his eyes. Before, when he had begun blocking her memories of her dreadful past, he tried as hard as he could to not view the memories he knew scarred her. However, any telepath could find that feat nearly impossible. What he saw surprised him. The powerful telepath viewed some scenes of her past, especially her most terrifying memories: her capture and experimentation. He could not help but feel sorry for the girl. She seemed fourteen, but it was hard to grasp onto the fact that she was really seventeen. Her maturity was beyond what he had seen before, especially in comparison with Ashton. Mikora was serious and cold, but he had a feeling...  
  
"She has a terrible past... as treacherous as Logan's, and more terrifying than any nightmare. Being caught and experimented upon at such a young age... No wonder when she had awoke, she thought she was back at the place that had frightened her the most."   
  
Conversation grew silent. Xavier was obviously doing some heavy thinking. After a moment, the professor spoke.   
  
"I have a request, Hank..." he said to the doctor.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
A/N: Well? What do you think? A little wordy, I know... well I was never that good at role-playing Xavier or posting as him anyway. Wolverine and Beast are just as tough, ESPECIALLY Wolverine. He's a bit too complicated for a high schooler like me. ^_^;; 


	7. Chap 6: Learning Dayze

Title: The Mikora Chronicles: Shards of the Past  
  
By: AngelAkuma  
  
A/N: I aplogize for the lack of updates; school was a real hell for me until AT LAST they released us from its torment on the afternoon of Thursday. Afterward, I had played LOTS of N64 and am now quite content. ^_^ I have also lost some interest in writing this story from the short and few reviews I have in this story. Sorry guys, but I can't update unless I know SOMEONE is reading this story that I took so long to form. If no one is reading it, then there's no real point of writing, now is there?   
  
As a small note to the title of this chapter, I misspelled "dayze" on purpose. If you look closely, you can see that the words "Days" and "daze" are pronounced the same...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
--{Chapter 6: Learning Dayze}--  
  
Over the next few days, Mikora Katt was kept in isolation from a majority of the school as she began to learn the simple basics of life. The teenage mutant had to learn some of the simplest concepts, such as how to brush her teeth, to make beds, to take a shower, currency, and how to use electronics. At first, Mikora was somewhat embarrassed from her lack of knowledge, but a new, hidden spark ignited within her - the will of learning. The girl picked things up quickly and was soon up to spec with the rest of the world.   
  
One of the few things that were new to her was reading. She knew how to read, but was not very good at it. Also, she had forgotten how to write, and so reading and writing had to be taught to her quickly. Hank, Jean and Justin were all willing to patiently teach her such concepts. With their help, the new student became a fast reader and could write much better than before. However, there were a few complications. Sometimes she wrote so fast that her writing became illegible at a few points.   
  
"Um... Mikora... I can't read your writing," the blue-furred doctor said one day as he squinted his eyes at the paper she'd written on.   
  
"It says, 'McCoy can't read'." she said, rolling her eyes, half smirking as well.   
  
"Hey!"   
  
She proved to be a difficult person to work with; the girl apparently preferred to work alone than in groups. She sometimes assumed leader position, but didn't seem too comfortable with that. The person she seemed to be most similar to was Logan. Another strange thing was, Logan seemed to appear more around Mikora, as if trying to assure himself of something. In fact, though the rest of the institute may not have known, he began to develop a feeling of respect for her.   
  
Her personality and emotional status developed well, and she soon proved to be just as sarcastic and joking as Bobby Drake, or Iceman. The brown haired, brown-eyed prankster known as Bobby soon found her to be a favorite for one of his jokes. He even pulled the old-fashioned bucket-of-cold-water-on-the-door prank on her one morning as she stepped in to brush her teeth. She did not manage to dodge in time and was soaking wet. Later Bobby found his entire room toilet-papered with 8 empty rolls of the toilet paper in various places. It took quite some time for him to clean up everything, for Mikora refused to help as he found more and more toilet paper in his room. From Bobby, Mikora learned to develop a sense of humor and took things more lightly, even though their pranks against one another continued to grow.   
  
The first few days of Mikora's one-week tryout were somewhat troublesome as the X-men tried to teach her the ways of life, but she finally began to relax and loosen up by the 5th day. Mikora was introduced to all of the members of the X-men and given a full tour of the entire campus on the fourth day, and she became a bit more familiar with the dormitories, kitchen, living room, and danger room. She proved to be in control with her powers and almost reached up to Logan's levels of training.   
  
Some foods were new to her, as she had not been introduced to her in her 4 years at MXF, such as cereal. She became quite fond of liquids, particularily milk.   
  
"So, kitten," Bobby teased once as he saw her drinking milk in the kitchen. "Need 'nother plat of milk?"   
  
Later in the week, he found a dead rat under his pillow.   
  
~~  
  
On the second to the last day, Xavier visited Mikora just as she settled down in the living room to watch some television after breakfast.   
  
"How are you?" he asked kindly as he was wheeled over by Scott Summers.   
  
"I'm good," she said shortly. She leaned back on the couch and searched for the remote control.   
  
"I am happy to hear of your good health," he said, smiling to himself, "Do you wish to stay here for another week?"   
  
Mikora paused in her search and thought about it. She didn't want to stay, but didn't exactly want to leave either. She felt bad that she probably wouldn't be able to pay them back for being here. They had been good to her... and though she did not know it, Mikora subconsciously did not want to leave. However, what was in her mind right then was to depart and go back into the wilderness of civilization.   
  
"I... I don't know," she said, looking away from Xavier, "I'm not ... certain of my decision."   
  
"That is quite alright," Xavier said, "I will not pressure you to make such a decision. However .... I have something to ask of you."  
  
"Yeah?" she asked, turning to his direction again, half-cocking her left eyebrow. "What is it?"   
  
"Bobby Drake's cousin will be coming later today. She is a mutant as well. She is also the reason Scott and a few of my other students were not present during the night you were nearly captured by MXF. We were making arrangements and such for Bobby's cousin." Xavier said, "I would really like for you to come to meet her when she comes."   
  
"Why?" she asked sternly, yet somewhat appalled. Inside, she wondered if Bobby even HAD a cousin. He didn't talk much of his family, only that they lived somewhere in Boston. He never mentioned of any other family before.   
  
"It is good for you to meet others, Mikora. I do not like it when you are always inside. It would be good for you to meet others like you, hiding for so long from others that want to hurt you."   
  
Mikora slumped back against the couch again, considering. Scott watched her tentivly. He didn't like this Mikora; her character was strange and sometimes unreasonable. However, Jean put up with her, and so did he. But how long would he conceal it?   
  
"Fine, I'll go," she said at last, "But I'm not talking."   
  
~~  
  
In mid-morning, a PA system cackled to life around the mansion. Students looked up and listened with respect (some with none at all) to the announcement.   
  
{This is Professor Xavier. I kindly ask all students not to use the basketball courts today for important reasons. A new student is coming via plane, and I ask you once again to not come unless Jean Grey or I invited you. Thank you.}  
  
Justin too had heard it, although he had been outside writing poetry in one of his journals. He particularly enjoyed his new mentor's garden and its quietness and tranquility. In a corner of his mind, he wondered why he had not been invited, then again, he couldn't stand excitement and often led to his heart problem. At his arrival, he had told Xavier of his health problem.   
  
~*~*~   
  
Day 2 -- Xavier's Study  
  
"Mr. Xavier?"   
  
~~  
  
Later in the day after lunch, Xavier, Bobby, Jean, Scott, and Mikora (who was a little more than away from the main group) were all standing outside near the basket ball courts. It was a little after three, and Mikora felt boredom bore itself into her. She wanted to fall asleep standing up; she had done it before.... Had she? She couldn't quite remember. But that would be disrespecting Xavier, whom had been kind enough to house her for free. However, he didn't understand. She couldn't be here; there were places she needed to be. But she couldn't just leave. Somewhere, she felt that she had to repay him somehow... Her thoughts chased each other in an endless circle, and in the end Mikora was battling herself while standing still.   
  
"Ah, here they come," Xavier finally said. The small group looked expectantly skyward, but they saw nothing. However, the normal eye could not see what Mikora could see. She saw small rifts of air flowing away from a certain point, and instantly knew that this must be the aircraft in which Iceman's cousin would arrive.   
  
"Hey... where is it?" Scott said, scanning the skies.   
  
"It's invisible, one-eye," Mikora said gruffly, "Or maybe you're a lot blinder than I thought."  
  
"Hey, look, Mikora -- " Scott snapped, turning his head toward her. His teeth were slightly clenched and his right hand twitched as if to raise his hand to his visor.   
  
"Scott," Jean said tensely, touching his sleeve. He backed out and muttered to himself. Bobby frowned slightly, as if in disapproval of their actions. Mikora inched away from the group, feeling the need for isolation.   
  
The rifts that Mikora had seen became slightly more and more visible, until a grey jet suddenly appeared only feet away from the mansion. The landing gear was already out, and wind flew around them and their different colored hair swept back as the silver and grey jet at last landed on the pavement. From the looks and the size, it was a small private jet, built for less than five people and made to transport a small number of people in a small amount of time.   
  
The engines seemed to take forever to shut down. The propeller finally stopped spinning, and the landing gear was finally steady as the door of the plane opened. A white and silver colored ramp was lowered down toward the hard ground, which was only a short ways compared with most large planes. As Xavier was wheeled over to the plane by Scott with Iceman following behind them, a tall figure stepped out of the door. He appeared somewhere in his late 20's or early 30's, had dirty blond hair which was cut short, and pale slate blue eyes that were as clear as water. He had a natural smile that made all feel comfortable.   
  
"Ah, Jerry," Xavier said, smiling.   
  
"Charles," Jerry said, smiling and shaking his hand.   
  
"Children, this is Jerry Nelson*, " Xavier said, "He is a mutant as well, but lives in another state. He carefully built his private jet and is one of the most valuable items he belongs, in acceptance of his own mutant facility he organized in the sewers."   
  
The X-men gave random "hellos" and greetings, but Mikora remained silent.   
  
"Like myself, he is telepathic and that is how he found most of his members, and particularly, Kokori LeAnne." He said before turning to the door of the plane. A figure exited the plane. She had icy blue hair and her skin was pale, but one could see some color in it. Her eyes were covered with dark sunglasses, and thus no one could see her eye color. She was tall, but not as tall as a normal girl would be. The girl wore a white T-shirt and worn khaki shorts and old dark blue sneakers. In her left hand was a water bottle that was half-empty, obviously drunken by her during the plane ride.   
  
"Um... Hello," she said. Her voice was light, somewhat airy. Jean nudged Bobby, and he blinked and snapped out of his transfixed state. She urged him forward and he reluctantly walked forward.   
  
"Um... Kokori?" Bobby asked uneasily.   
  
"Bo... bobby?"   
  
The two stared at each other. The two long-lost cousins reunited for the first time, weeks after they first heard of each other. Both lost without family, without hope...   
  
Kokori, in a burst of emotion, suddenly ran to her cousin, threw her arms around her cousin and hugged him, her tears of joy streaming down her face. Bobby jumped back slightly in surprise, but accepted the hug.   
  
"Oh my god... I thought I didn't have family ... Kokori said, half-crying and laughing.   
  
Jerry and Xavier smiled slightly to themselves, knowing what an important moment this was for them.   
  
[Are you staying, Jerry?] Xavier asked through telepathy.   
  
[I am sorry, I cannot, Charles,] he replied, [I have business to attend to.]  
  
[It is good to meet you in person,] Xavier said, smiling more.   
  
[You too, Charles. I will keep in touch.] With that, he smiled and glanced at the school.   
  
"I suppose I could stay for a while... a few days at most," he said aloud, "My jet needs a refuel anyway."   
  
"Um, professor," Jean said, "I don't see Mikora anywhere."   
  
The rest of the group turned around, only to find her place empty.   
  
"Maybe she got scared off; there's so many telepaths here," Scott muttered in general distaste as he crossed his arms.   
  
"Scott!" Jean snapped.   
  
"We'll have to look for her," Xavier said, worried. He knew he could use his telepathy to find her, but he felt that what she wanted was to be left alone.   
  
~~  
  
Mikora panted slightly as she reached her room. A sudden memory had interrupted, and she didn't want the others to think that she needed help from something like that. She walked toward the bed, and collapsed on it.   
  
--~~::FLASH!::~~--  
  
The memory was short and blurry. The color was lacking and almost black and white, but she could still see. She mostly heard a male who was laughing, a kind, gentle laughter, not in the cruel, harsh tone she normally heard. Someone was smiling, and she could see that it was a woman. A single word echoed into this memory.   
  
~ Family... ~  
  
--~~::FLASH!::~~--  
  
"It's stupid," she muttered quietly to herself, "It's just stupid... plain stupid..."   
  
'That's it...' she thought to herself, 'I'm leaving. I'm out of here... They... they can't help me. I'm leaving after this stupid tryout week. I'm leaving...'   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
*A/N: Thanks to Ryan for helping me with the last name! 


End file.
